


the conversation

by theglitterati



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (happy tears!), Canon Compliant, Christmas Fluff, I cried writing this, M/M, Plans For The Future, merry christmas Bokuaka fans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:40:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28274010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theglitterati/pseuds/theglitterati
Summary: Bokuto is offered a great opportunity for his career, but he needs to get Akaashi to agree to go along with it. Which would probably be easier if they were actually dating.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 18
Kudos: 182





	the conversation

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the same-name Motion City Soundtrack song.

Bokuto turned carefully into the parking lot, freshly-fallen snow crinkling under the crush of tires. Akaashi waited for him outside the diner in a long, wool coat. The December wind played with his hair, tossing it every which way. Even from fifty feet away, he looked beautiful.

Bokuto parked and hopped out of the car. “Sorry I’m late! Driving in the snow sucks!”

“It’s alright,” Akaashi called out. “My train was late, too.”

“Aren’t you cold?”

“Not at all.” He met Bokuto halfway. His cheeks were pink, flushed from the whipping wind. “Merry Christmas, Bokuto-san.”

“Merry Christmas, Akaashi.” Bokuto wrapped him in a tight hug, pressing his face into his hair. The familiar smell of him flooded Bokuto’s senses, the scent of his shampoo and something uniquely _Akaashi_ that made him dizzy with fondness _._ He couldn’t believe it had been two months since they saw each other. Bokuto had missed him like crazy. 

If today went well, he reminded himself, he wouldn’t have to miss him anymore.

“Bokuto-san.” Akaashi’s voice was muffled by Bokuto’s coat. “Do you want to go inside?”

“Ah, sure.” Bokuto reluctantly let go of him. “I’m just excited to see you!”

They shuffled through the snow to the diner. It was their usual meeting spot in Nakatsugawa, a small city between Tokyo and Osaka. The food was average, but it came in huge portions, and the staff never minded when they sat around for hours ordering nothing but tea.

Their server gave them a table near the window. It was quiet today; most people had probably gone out to eat the night before on Christmas Eve. They peeled off their layers and sat down across from each other in the tiny booth.

“Hey, nice shirt,” Akaashi said. Bokuto wore a navy blue sweater Akaashi had given him for his birthday years ago.

“Thanks. It actually got a rip here” — he showed Akaashi the hole in the cuff — “I didn’t want to try to fix it myself and ruin it.”

“I can sew it up for you next time.” Bokuto nodded. Neither of them mentioned that they had no idea when _next time_ would be.

Their server returned and took their orders. Bokuto didn’t need to look at the menu here anymore, but with it gone, he was running out of ways to stall. “Um, how was your birthday?” he asked.

“It was fine. I didn’t do much— I actually ended up working late, so I had a drink with my coworkers after. Saw my parents the next day.”

“I wish I'd been there.” They had spoken on the phone, but only for a few minutes; they didn’t talk or text much anymore. Bokuto assumed Akaashi didn’t text him because he thought Bokuto was busy and didn’t want to bother him. It was exactly the kind of considerate but ultimately wrong thought he would have. Bokuto didn’t text him because it was too painful.

“Me too. What about you? How’s the team?”

“Oh, they’re great! Um, actually, there’s something—”

“Here you go!” Their server set steaming bowls in front of each of them. “One oyakodon, one chicken curry. Let me know if you need anything else.”

“Thank you,” Akaashi said. “What were you saying, Bokuto-san?”

“Oh, just… just that I miss Hinata, is all. It’s been kind of quiet since he left.”

“I can imagine.”

Bokuto kicked himself for chickening out. Maybe if he ate something, he’d be less nervous. He dug into his curry passionately. Akaashi, always a fast eater, was already deep in his oyakodon.

Unfortunately, eating on a stomach full of butterflies made him feel nauseous, not brave. Their plates were cleared away, and Bokuto was out of excuses. “Hey, I kind of have some news,” he said.

Akaashi dabbed his lips on a napkin. “Good news?”

 _Depends on what you say._ “I think so. About a month ago, my agent got approached by a scout from a team that wants to sign me. They’re a really great team, and my contract is up with the Black Jackals this year, so…”

“That sounds amazing, Bokuto-san. Where is it?”

“Um,” Bokuto said. “Germany?”

Akaashi’s mouth fell open. “Wow, that’s… are you going to take it?”

“I dunno yet. It wouldn’t be until next fall, so I have some time to think about it. And there’s a _lot_ to think about, you know?”

“Of course.”

“‘Cause I don’t speak German, and I don’t know anyone there. I’d be far away from my family and my friends. And from you.”

“I could always come visit,” Akaashi said.

“Yeah, you could.” Bokuto made a fist under the table, nails digging into his palm. “Or actually, I was thinking, um, that maybe you could come with me?”

Akaashi stilled. “What?”

“I know it sounds crazy. Like really crazy, like that time I said I wanted a pet raccoon, but this is— I’ve thought about this a lot, so hear me out, okay?” 

Bokuto was terrified he would refuse, or maybe get up and leave up, but he didn’t move. “Alright,” he said quietly.

“Okay, so, I looked some stuff up, and apparently, any Japanese person under thirty can get a one-year work permit in Germany, and if you get a job that wants to keep you, you can stay longer. The team is in Berlin and you could totally get a job there!”

“I don’t speak German either,” Akaashi pointed out.

“You could learn! They have programs for that, and you’re super smart. You’d definitely learn faster than I will. But, if you didn’t want to do that, then you could go back to school. You always say you want to, and Omi says they have English schools there—”

Akaashi balked. “You told the team about this!?”

“No! No, just Omi-Omi, ‘cause I needed his help looking stuff up, and I made him swear not to tell anyone. But he also said that if you didn’t like either of those choices, you could keep working for a Japanese company remotely. It would be okay if you didn’t make a lot of money, because I’d make enough to support you, and—”

“Bokuto-san, please, slow down.” Bokuto made himself stop talking. Akaashi didn’t look mad, which was good, but he did look stressed, which was bad. “We’re not even—” He lowered his voice. “We’re not even together!”

“I know that,” Bokuto said.

“I mean, we decided me moving to _Osaka_ was too much—”

“I know that, too.”

“—and now you want me to move to Berlin!?”

Bokuto laughed weakly. “Like I said: crazy.”

Akaashi collapsed back into the booth. “This is definitely crazier than the raccoon thing.” His hands were just visible above the table, twisting as he toyed with his fingers. Bokuto smiled. Some things never changed.

“You really did all that research?” Akaashi asked.

“Yeah. It took ages.”

“I’m pretty impressed.”

“Thank you.” Bokuto hesitated. “There’s something else, too.”

“What else could there possibly be?”

This was it.

“We could get married,” Bokuto said.

Akaashi stared at him. “You’re serious?”

“Yep. It’s legal there. We could get married and be together properly. No more hiding, no more driving back and forth, only seeing each other every few months—”

“Are you— Bokuto-san, are you _asking me to marry you right now!?”_

“Not right now. I mean, I don’t have a ring or anything. I can get one, though. A really nice one.”

Akaashi just gaped at him. Bokuto wished he’d look anywhere else.

“Obviously I don’t expect you to answer me right now. I don’t have to make a decision for another few months.” He ran a hand through his hair. “And I’m not stupid, Akaashi. I know you’re probably going to say no, and that’s—”

“Okay.”

Bokuto’s heart did a somersault. “What?”

“I said okay. Let’s do it.”

“Do what? Which part?”

“All of it. Move to Germany, live together. Get married.”

“Are you—”

“I cannot _believe_ you’re about to ask me if I’m serious, Bokuto-san.”

Bokuto tried to say something, _anything,_ but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, he burst into tears.

He sobbed into his hands, not caring that people were staring because he sounded a bit like a dying hyena when he cried. “Bokuto-san, stop that,” Akaashi hissed, though his eyes had welled up, too.

“Sorry, Akaashi,” Bokuto mumbled. “I just— oh, god, I didn’t think you’d say yes. You’re not messing with me, right?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Good, ‘cause if you were, I think I might die!” His chest heaved as he tried unsuccessfully to catch his breath. “I can’t believe this!”

Akaashi laughed softly. “What’s strange is that I can completely believe it. Of course you would do something this crazy.” He sniffed. “You’ve always driven me nuts.”

“Sorry,” Bokuto said again.

“Don’t be. My life has felt… stagnant lately, and this… oh, I’m so happy.” He covered his smile with his hand, as though it was not allowed. The tears in his eyes began to fall. “Damnit, Bokuto-san!” He leaned forward as a sob overtook him, reaching for Bokuto’s hand across the table. Bokuto wrapped his fingers up in his own, rubbing his thumb against Akaashi’s wrist.

Neither of them noticed when their server reappeared at their table. “Um,” she said, taking in the two of them bawling. “Do you guys want any dessert?”

They did get dessert, and tea, extending their stay as long as possible like so many other days. Only now, instead of catching up on their separate lives, they planned out a future together. When they were done, Bokuto paid the cheque and led Akaashi outside by the hand.

“Come back to Osaka with me tonight,” he said, after dusting off the car.

“I have to work on Monday.”

“So just stay for one night. Or call in sick! You’re going to be quitting soon anyway.”

“That doesn’t mean I can start slacking,” Akaashi protested. “If anything, I need to work harder so I get a better reference.”

“Come on, Akaashi.” Bokuto tugged him closer and lowered his voice. “I’ll make it worth your while.”

Akaashi bit his lip. “Fine, one night.” He spun on his heel and circled around to the passenger side. “But don’t think this kind of manipulation is going to fly when we’re married!”

Bokuto’s jaw dropped.

“No, no, don’t cry again!”

“I’m sorry,” Bokuto howled. “Just hearing you say that!”

“I know, I know,” Akaashi said. “Bokuto-san, get in the car.”

Bokuto slid into the driver’s seat, rubbing his eyes. A gentle hand replaced his, wiping away the last of the tears. “No more crying,” Akaashi said. He leaned in and kissed Bokuto softly, a shaky press of lips against lips.

It wasn’t their first kiss; there had been many others over the years, nearly all of them accompanied by goodbyes. This one, in a snowy parking lot on Christmas Day, was a beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me at kyrstin.tumblr.com!


End file.
